Footwear



Aug. 11, 1931. y N. D. MATTlsoN 1 1,818,731

` 'l FooTwEAR Filed Jan. 1:5, 1930 4 Fly-4 l sa Patented- Aug.`l11,193.1r i

UNITI-:Dy STATES PATENT OFFICE NORMAN 1: Harrison, or N nw Ionic, er.

roofrwnan.

Application sled January 1s, 1930. seran No. 420,437.

exerfted on thel ball of the foot at the innerv This invention lrelatesto shoes and other.

footwear, hereinafter referred to as shoes. The examination andtreatment of agreat number of defective feet has demonstrated 5 that oneofthe most common ,foot defectslof the more serious types consists inthe tendency ofthe foot to roll inwardly 'into what is known astapronated positlon. The present invention is especially concerned withmore especially shoe heels and the relation- .ship of the heel to otherparts of`a shoe with a view to promoting correct foot balance andrestoring normal muscular action proper muscular habits. The nature' ofthe invention will be readily understood from thel following descriptionwhen read in connection with the accompan ing drawings, and the novelfeatures will particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawin s,I y Figure 1 vis a an view of the bottom lof 'a shoeconstructs in accordance with this invention; 4

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a slightly different constructionembodying the invention 4 Fi s. 3 and 4'are views the hnes 3 3 and 4-40spectively; and

artly in section on `Figs. 1 and-2, re-

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the heel por --tion of a shoe in aninverted position show-- in afurther modification.

' relinnary to a detailed description of the constructmns shown in thedrawin s it vmay be pointed out that in the act of wa g the heel of theshoe 'strikes the ground first, the reater part of the weight cominfirst on the eel of the foot and an instant ater being divided betweenthe heel and the-ball of 'the footas the sole of the shoe comes incontact with .the ground. 4In a normal foot, in correct balance, 'thepressure on the plantar surface ofthe forepart is much heavier at theouter or left-hand side of the longitudinal vmedian axis of the. foot,indicated by 4the line -A-B, Fig. 1, at this particular pomt in the stethan at the inner or right-hand side of sai axis. In fact, very littlepressure is this fact, and it aims to improve shoes andl along the innerside of this axis when the weight first comes on the forepart of thefoot, provided the muscular action and the balance are correct. As theheel liftsand thebody 'progresses forward a shift of the weight occurs,the weight then being delivered directly and evenly to the entire ballof the foot, and the foot hingin \evenly at the ankle, without'inrollinn a pronated foot the distribution o the weight 1s quite different. Theheel, of course,

es the ground first, but as the -weight stri artly shifts tothe forepartAor ball of the oot a much greater proportion of it is im'- pressed uponthe plantar surfaces ofthe ball at the inner side of the axis A-B. 1 Asthe heellifts and the body moves forward a still greater proportion ofthe weight comes on the plantar .surfaces at the inner side of the axisA-.LB than is` the case in a normal foot This is the reason for theirritation, callouses and bunions frequently fond on the ball surface`of a pronated foot under and adjacent to the great toe joint.

There. is also an important difference in the distribution of muscularaction in the two -feet above described. That is, in a normalfoot theygreater part of the muscular effort Ais directed along what isfrequently termed the'cuboid stream r alon the outer longitudinal archof the foot, w `le in the ronated foot much more of the muscular e ortis exerted along the iscaphoid stream, or

ongitudinalarch of the foot. And this difference in the distribution ofmuscular action has an importanteifecton the strains imposed on themuscles in the ankle and leg. i Y The present invention proposes toutilize the inrolling tendency of a pronated foot and Athe .consequentfaulty distribution of wei ht to create a consciousness of improper ootbalance and to produce a demand for correction. .i

Referring now to Fi s. 1 and 3, it will be observed that the trea medianaxis A-B of the s oe into what may be termed an outer section 2 and aninner section 3, since the former of these sections surface of. the.heel there' shown is divided b the longitudinal lies at the outer sideof the axis .Ar--B while the latter lies at the inner side of said axis.The main body of the heel also is divided approximately along this axisinto inner and outer sections, as is`clearly shown in Fig.

be composed of a highly resilient grade of rubber; or if the outersection 2 is made of rubber of the usual characteristics used in themanufacture of rubber heels, the inner section 3 should be made of asofter and substantially more yielding grade of rubber, so that in an fevent the section?) will be incapable o supportin the foot lwith theweight of the body on 1t at as high an elevation as the outer. section,and therefore will permit the foot to roll inwardly, if it has anymaterial tendency'to doso. So far as supporting the weight of the bodyvis concerned, the section 3 could be omitted, but such a constructionobviously would be objectionable for several reasons, particularly thatof appearance; The heel provided, therefore, while preferably havingapproximately the outline of a common heel, permits the foot to rock orroll on the axis A-B atY the'unction of the two sections 2 and 3 as a fucrum-into an inrolled or pronated position. The action is such, however,that the walker instantly 'becomes conscious of the inrollin of his footand he automaticall and instlnctivel corrects its position by rol ing itoutward y, thus bringing thev weight l on tothe flat surface of the firmouter section 2. This shifting of the weight to the outer side of thelongitudinal median axis A-B is exactly what is desired to improve thedistributionrof the Weight and promote proper muscular balance.Continued use of a shoe of this character trains the foot to cor- `rectmuscular habits, directs the muscular effort along'tlie cuboid stream inthe desired manner, and gradually establishes correct foot usage.

In ya very large proportion of pronated feet better results areobtained. by using the construction shown in Figs. 2 and 4 which 1s notquite so radical a departure from prior standards as that shown in Fi 1.It will be observed that the longitu inal median axis A-B ofthe shoepasses through the central part of the second toe, and that the heelShown in-Figs. 2 and 4 instead of being divided alon this axis, isdivided by the` axis C-D whic i extends along the inner longitudinalarch of the foot and runs arallel to the axis A--B. The position o thisaxis C-D'canbe varied considerably, but I lhave obtained excellentresults by so locating it that it runs through the iimer margin of the'ball region at the great toe joint, approximately as shown in Fig. 2. Itis preferable, also, for many patients notv to divide the heel at therear rounded end thereof but to leave this area integral with the outersection 4 and to stop the inner'section 5 at a point somewhat forward ofthe region at the curved rear end. The relative proporv receive theinitial impact of the foot while still providing an inadequate .supportfor the inner margin of the heel of the foot so that the foot canreadily roll into a pronated position. Such inrolling is immediatelyimpressed upon the consciousness of the individual and he tends, largelythrough reflex action, to correct .the position of his foot instantly. yi

It will be noted that in both of the constructions above described thefirm sections 2 and 4 of the heel are considerably larger than theircooperating yielding sections 3 and 5, respectively. Preferably thisfirm section, which is designed to take the weight of the body, includesboth the central and outer portions of the heel. vAt the same time thesofter and more yielding sections of the heel are made of substantialwidth so that a definite inrolling of the foot is permitted along afulcrum lying between the axis of the heel and the inner edge oftheheel. This axis need -not necessarily lie parallel to the axis Ar-B,

although I refer this arrangement. In Fig. 2 the axis o the heel isshown at 1r-b. A person with normal feet could wear a shoe like thatshown in Figs. 2 and 4 and be entirely unconscious of anything. unusualin the construction of the shoe so long as his feet remained in balance.i

A-shoe having a heel which operates functionally substantially likethat' shown in Fig. 4is illustrated in Fig. 5, the section 4"corresponding to that shown at 4 in Figs. 2 and 4, and the cutawayportion 5.permitting the inrolling which is also permitted by theyielding section L5 of the heel shown in Figs. 2 and 4,' although theconstruction 'illustrated lin Fig. 5 permits a somewhat greater degreeof inrolling than is obtainable in that shown in Fig, 4, and in fact agreater degree than is iso however, to create a consciousness of faultybalance and to promote a demand for and an effort towardcorrect balance,thus strengthening the muscles which are weak and are largelyresponsible for the faulty foot action', building up normal muscularaction and creating or restoring the proper command of balance.

While I have herein shown and described A typical embodimentsof myinvention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied inother forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. y l

' Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

1. A shoe heel formed of materials of relatively diferent firmness andresiliency, the

weight supporting area of the heel being composed of the material ofgreater firmness and extending over the central and outer portions oftheheel and across the curved rear end thereof, and the area to be disposedbelow the posterior aspect of the inner longitudinal arch of the footbeing largely composed of resilient material of lesser firmness.

2. A shoe portion affording firm support under the central and outerportions of the heel of the foot and across the curved rear end of theheel, that art of the shoe portion to be disposed belowt e posterioraspect of the inner longitudinal arch of the foot being largellycomposed of resilient material of lesser hrnliness Ythan the supportingportion for the 3. A shoe having a'heel including a tread section ofrelatively iirm material at the outer side of the vlongitudinal axisextending a proximately through the ball 'region at tliie great toejoint and parallel to the longitudi# nal median axis of the shoe, saidsection affording firm support under the' central and outer portions anacross the curved rear end of the heel of the foot, and another treadsecton disposed below the posterior aspect of the inner longitudinalarch. of the foot, said latter section being com osed largely ofresilient material of lesser rmness than said first section.

4.v A shoe heel divided longitudinally into inner and outer sections,the outer section extending over the central and outer portions andacross the curved rear end of the heel and being made of firm materialca able'of 'I supporting the wei ht of the body, t e inner section beinglocate fol-,disposition below the posterior aspect of thel innerlongitudinal arch of the foot and being largely composed of resilientmaterial of lesser firmness than said outer section,the junction of saidsections forming a fulcrum on which the heel can tip into a pronatedposition, said inner section ermitting such tippingl movement and saidulcrum lying between t e central axis of said heel and the inner le ofthe heel.

Non N D. Munson. f

